He = HAM? Both "he" = the same person? Let go = literal, or figurative? Do both "let go" refer to the same action? Two actions of the same kind? Two different? Last straw: a literal straw? The usual figure of speech? Another clever twist which will bring you great amusement as we struggle to solve it? (;

He = HAM? Both "he" = the same person? yes to theseLet go = literal this, or figurative? Do both "let go" refer to the same action? this Two actions of the same kind? Two different? so no to theseLast straw: a literal straw? no The usual figure of speech? this Another clever twist which will bring you great amusement as we struggle to solve it? (; this too ;-)

Did he let go? Was he both not fine, and subjected to the last straw? Did he just let go at the wrong time, when doing it (earlier? later?) would have saved him? Was he injured? Was it an accident? Did he fall? Did he die? Other people relevant? Did he let go with his hand/hands? Let go of an object, or person? Is what happened to him when/if he let go important? Is what happened to what he held on to important?

Did he let go? yes Was he both not fine, and subjected to the last straw? correct Did he just let go at the wrong time, when doing it (earlier? this later?) would have saved him? yesWas he injured? yes Was it an accident? yes Did he fall? yes, but beware mislead Did he die? no Other people relevant? no Did he let go with his hand/hands? yes Let go of an object this, or person? Is what happened to him when/if he let go important? yes Is what happened to what he held on to important? yes

Did he fall down? Fall over? Blow away? Wash away? Aircraft relevant? Gym equipment? Cranes? Did he hold on out of panic? And then let go out of fatigue? Was the thing he held on to moving? A vehicle? A kite?

Did he fall down? thisish Fall over? Blow away? Wash away? Aircraft relevant? Gym equipment? Cranes? this is closestDid he hold on out of panic? yope And then let go out of fatigue? irr why he let go Was the thing he held on to moving? yes, again beware the mislead A vehicle? A kite? no to these

Was he holding on to some kind of control? Like a lever or switch? Did the crane-like thing fall over? Hit something? Tilt over as part of normal operation, causing him to fall? Excavator relevant? Was it one of those crane-like things where you stand in a "basket" at the end of a boom, and control its movement from the basket - to reach high places like walls, windows and such? What are those called?

Was he holding on to some kind of control? no Like a lever or switch? no Did the crane-like thing fall over? Hit something? Tilt over as part of normal operation, causing him to fall? Excavator relevant? Was it one of those crane-like things where you stand in a "basket" at the end of a boom, and control its movement from the basket - to reach high places like walls, windows and such? no to these What are those called? cherry pickers, i believe.

Was he holding onto a moving part of a stationary crane-like machine? Did he fall at an arc? Did he hit something relevant? Did another object fall, while he held on to it? Other people relevant? Location relevant? If so: Dock? Building site? Pit mine? Factory? Other workplace?

Was he holding onto a moving part of a stationary crane-like machine? No. For the record, a crane was closest, but not that close. Did he fall at an arc? no Did he hit something relevant? yes Did another object fall, yes while he held on to it? yope Other people relevant? noLocation relevant? yes If so: Dock? Building site? this Pit mine? Factory? Other workplace?

Is a lift closer? Is it some sort of lifting equipment? Did he lose something, which pulled him down? Was what happened to him part of a larger accident? Such as: something was beginning to fall, he tried to hold onto it/keep it from falling?

Is a lift closer? yope Is it some sort of lifting equipment? part of it is Did he lose something, which pulled him down? yope Was what happened to him part of a larger accident? Such as: something was beginning to fall, he tried to hold onto it/keep it from falling? you're not a thousand miles off, but what happened to him was pretty much the whole accident

did the piece of equipment fail? break? was there a storm or weather event that is relevant? was he on this piece of equipment? by last straw do you just mean bad luck? was something falling that he was holding on to? attached to in anyway? was he attached to anything? is he a contruction worker? window washer? was he parachuting or anything of that nature? did he land on solid ground? in water? on an object or piece of equipment? is there rope involved? during his "fall" did he hit something? how far did he fall? 5ft or less? 10? 20? 30? more?

did a piece of equipment fail? yes break? something did was there a storm or weather event that is relevant? no was he on this piece of equipment? no by last straw do you just mean bad luck? very bad luck, yes was something falling that he was holding on to? see below. there are a few steps involved here, so I'm sorry if some of these answers are confusing. attached to in anyway? see below was he attached to anything? see below is he a contruction worker? this window washer? was he parachuting or anything of that nature? no did he land on solid ground? this in water? on an object or piece of equipment? is there rope involved? YES during his "fall" did he hit something? yes how far did he fall? 5ft or less? 10? 20? since he didn't die, I imagine it wasn't much more than 20 feet, but it's pretty irrelevant 30? more?

did the rope break? during his fall did he hit something before he hit the ground i should have said? did he let go of the rope? is that what the puzzle statement is referring to? i'm guessing there is multiple pieces of equipment since you change my 'the' to an 'a' on the previous post?

did the rope break? no during his fall did he hit something before he hit the ground i should have said? yes did he let go of the rope? eventually is that what the puzzle statement is referring to? yes i'm guessing there is multiple pieces of equipment since you change my 'the' to an 'a' on the previous post? no, i just didn't want you to think he was on a crane that fell over or something.

This man was in an accident at work, so he filled out an insurance claim. The insurance company contacted him and asked for more information. This was his response:

"I am writing in response to your request for additional information, for block number 3 of the accident reporting form. I put 'poor planning' as the cause of my accident. You said in your letter that I should explain more fully and I trust the following detail will be sufficient. I am an amateur radio operator and on the day of the accident, I was working alone on the top section of my new 80-foot tower. When I had completed my work, I discovered that I had, over the course of several trips up the tower, brought up about 300 pounds of tools and spare hardware. Rather than carry the now unneeded tools and material down by hand, I decided to lower the items down in a small barrel by using the pulley attached to the gin pole at the top of the tower. Securing the rope at ground level, I went to the top of the tower and loaded the tools and material into the barrel. Then I went back to the ground and untied the rope, holding it tightly to ensure a slow decent of the 300 pounds of tools."

"You will note in block number 11 of the accident reporting form that I weigh only 155 pounds. Due to my surprise of being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rather rapid rate of speed up the side of the tower. In the vicinity of the 40-foot level, I met the barrel coming down. This explains my fractured skull and broken collarbone. Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley. Fortunately, by this time, I had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold onto the rope in spite of my pain. At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of tools hit the ground and the bottom fell out of the barrel."

"Devoid of the weight of the tools, the barrel now weighed approximately 20 pounds. I refer you again to my weight in block number 11. As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the tower. In the vicinity of the 40-foot level, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles, and the lacerations of my legs and lower body. The encounter with the barrel slowed me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell onto the pile of tools and, fortunately, only three vertebrae were cracked. I am sorry to report, however, that as I lay there on the tools, in pain, unable to stand and watching the empty barrel 80 feet above me, I again lost my presence of mind. I let go of the rope..."

It has even been turned into a song, here the unfortunate man is a brick layer attempting to hoist down a barrel of leftover bricks: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70vcS41tr2AIt was also tested on Mythbusters. And I recall building a lego contraption using this principle many many years ago after hearing the story for the first time...